Monday, January 30, 2017

Make Ahead Yogurt & Fruit Parfaits with Homemade Granola

Make Ahead Yogurt & Fruit Parfaits with Granola

Do you ever find the most perfect food combination and then just keep making it over and over and over? I have been making these Make Ahead Fruit & Yogurt Parfaits with Homemade Granola the past few weeks and I seriously cannot get enough of them. They make for a super easy breakfast or a very satisfying afternoon snack.

I am using frozen berries, plain Greek yogurt, and homemade granola. At the grocery store just yesterday I noticed the yogurt cups with the clear plastic lids filled with granola in the dairy section and I thought to myself, "that granola looks so sad!" The fruit, yogurt, and granola I am using have no added sugar; the granola is sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup. When I first started making these parfaits, I was adding a drizzle of honey to the tart yogurt, but I stopped adding it as I am finding the berries to be sweet enough. If you are watching your sugar intake, be sure to check the label on your frozen fruit because sometimes they sneak in some sugar. It does seem to take more than 10 hours for the berries to thaw out in the refrigerator so keep that in mind. But when the berries do thaw, there is a wonderful liquid released from the berries and it swirls into the thick yogurt beautifully.

Here is the frozen fruit I am using; this is from my Kroger Store and the "Cherry Berry Medley" contains cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

I've posted this granola recipe in the past, but I've tweaked the recipe a bit... so here it is again!
Unlike many granola recipes, this recipe has no added fat (ie. vegetable oil or butter).

ENERGIZED GRANOLA WITH CHIA SEEDS

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup black chia seeds

1/4 cup sliced almonds or chopped almonds

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Coating:

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Stir together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl or a Pyrex measuring cup with a spout, combine the maple syrup and vanilla; stir with a fork to combine. Pour the maple syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and stir well until all dry ingredients are moistened. Pour all onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake, stirring after 15 minutes, until the nuts are golden brown, about 30 minutes total. Turn the oven off; open the oven door and leave it open. Allow the granola to toast further in the oven as it cools off (about another 30 minutes).

Store the fully cooled granola in a plastic or glass container with a tight fitting lid; store at room temperature.

Use 3 plastic cups with lids. In each plastic cup, add 1 cup frozen fruit and about 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (more if desired). Top the cups with the lids and refrigerate (berries will take more than 10 hours to thaw in the refrigerator). When ready to serve, top the Yogurt and Fruit Parfait with about 3 tablespoons of Energized Granola with Chia.